Following the signing of the treaty of accession of Crimea and Sevastopol into the Russian Federation, there has been an outspoken backlash and threats from key G7 members, who are organizing a meeting next week.

At the signing on Tuesday, Crimea was represented by Prime
Minister Sergey Aksyonov and Sevastopol mayor, Aleksey Chaly, who
added his name to the treaty. The two were accompanied by Crimean
parliamentary speaker, Vladimir Konstantinov.

Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin added his name to
the agreements, US President Barack Obama announced that Western
leaders would be gathering to decide the next course of action.
Among G7 members addressing the agreement between Crimea and
Russia were the US, France, Germany and the UK.

“The meeting will focus on the situation in Ukraine and
further steps that the G7 may take to respond to developments and
to support Ukraine,” White House National Security Council
spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement, “We would not
recognize this attempted annexation,” White House spokesman
Jay Carney told reporters in a briefing.

G7 leaders have already suspended arrangements for a G8 summit,
which had been scheduled to take place in Sochi in June because
of disagreements over Ukraine.

As meetings were held in Warsaw between US Vice President Joe
Biden, Estonian President Toomas Ilves and Polish Prime Minister
Donald Tusk, Biden announced that Russia would see ‘additional
sanctions’ from the US and the EU if the country continued to
‘annex’ Crimea.

“Russia has offered a variety of arguments to justify what is
nothing more than a land grab,” Biden stated.

Tusk expressed additional concerns to a televised news
conference: “Russia's annexation of Crimea can't be accepted
by the international community including Poland. In one moment
this changes the country's (Ukraine) borders and the geopolitical
situation in this region of the world,” Tusk announced.

Estonian President Toomas Ilves reiterated at the meeting that a
US presence in Europe is absolutely vital.

“It is important to immediately resume dialogue to develop a
solution to the crisis,” said Stephane Dujarric,
spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday. He
added that Ki-moon has urged that all parties involved avoid
escalation, saying they need “to work to find a solution that
would not be contrary to the UN Charter, and does not violate the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso,
tweeted on Tuesday that the EU “does not and will not
recognize the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian
Federation.” In a joint statement released by Barroso and
president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, they called
the referendum in Crimea “illegal and illegitimate,”
noting that “the European Council will discuss the situation
in Ukraine at its meeting this week and agree on a united
European response.”

British Prime Minister David Cameron stated that the decision to
“annex” Crimea would result in Russia facing
“serious consequences” for the alleged breach of
international law. “I will push European leaders to agree
further EU measures when we meet on Thursday,” read the
statement published on the Number 10 website, adding that it sent
a “chilling message” across Europe.

The strongly-worded statement was released shortly after the UK
Foreign Secretary William Hague announced suspension of bilateral
military cooperation with Russia, which included the cancellation
of a pre-arranged joint naval exercise with both France and the
US, and the visit of a Royal Navy ship to St. Petersburg.

“It was regrettable to hear President Putin today choosing
the route of isolation, denying the citizens of his own country,
and of Crimea, partnership with the international community and
full membership of a range of international organizations,”
Hague told Parliament.

French President Francois Hollande weighed in, stating that he
‘condemned’ the decision. “France does not recognize either
the results of the referendum ... or the attachment of this
Ukrainian region to Russia,” he asserted.

German Chancellor Angela backed her European counterparts,
accusing Russia of violating international law through “the
absorption [of Crimea] into the Russian Federation”. It
emerged later on Tuesday that Merkel had discussed the situation
with Obama on the telephone to make efforts “to continue
coordinating response to the situation in Ukraine,” Ben
Rhodes, White House deputy national security adviser wrote on
Twitter.

Hollande announced that he was hoping for a “strong and
coordinated European response” to be arranged at the next
European Council meeting, planned for March 20-21.

On Monday, some 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials fell under the
impact of travel bans and asset freezes from the EU. It was
previously made known that the EU had compiled a list of some
120-130 names of senior Russian officials who may fall victim to
travel bans and asset freezes as part of sanctions. The US
introduced similar visa bans and asset freezes on 11 Russians and
Ukrainians on the same day.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated on Tuesday that Western
sanctions would “lead nowhere” and there would be retaliation.
“This does not bother me - on the contrary, I'm proud,”
stated close Putin aide, Vladislav Surkov, told reporters, "I
consider this a kind of political Oscar from America for best
male supporting role,” he added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told US Secretary of State
John Kerry that Western sanctions against Russia over Crimea are
unacceptable and warned of consequences in the future.

"[Crimea] republic residents made their democratic choice in
line with the international law and the UN charter, which Russia
accepts and respects," the statement said, "while the
sanctions introduced by the United States and the European Union
are unacceptable and will not remain without consequences."

“Canadian PM Stephen Harper put me on the list,” Deputy
Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin stated on Twitter. Rogozin is on
both US and Canadian sanctions lists. “Looks like they're
also looking for my accounts and villas. They wish!” he
said, having earlier reminded the international community that he
had no assets in the US.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has condemned Russia
for signing the treaty of accession with Crimea, saying Moscow
has embarked on a "dangerous path," Reuters reports.

"I condemn President [Vladimir] Putin's announcement of new
laws incorporating Crimea into the Russian Federation,"
Rasmussen said in a statement.

"Russia has disregarded all calls to step back into line with
international law and continues down the dangerous path...There
can be no justification to continue on this course of action that
can only deepen Russia's international isolation. Crimea's
annexation is illegal and illegitimate and NATO allies will not
recognize it."